Understanding Stretched and Gauged Piercings
An Explanation of Concepts Associated With Stretching Piercings
Jul 6, 2009
Gauging one’s piercing(s) is currently the most popular and common form of body modification. Many individuals are interested in gauging their piercings but are unsure of the process and repercussions.
What Does the Word Gauged Mean?
The term gauged refers to the size or diameter of one’s stretched piercing. The smallest gauge is 20; the size of the hole increases as the “gauge” decreases. Therefore, a 16 gauge earring is much larger than a 20 gauge earring.
To make the concept completely clear, the following list includes all of the gauge sizes in order from 20 to one inch: 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, 00, 000, 7/16, 1/2 inch, 5/8 inch, 3/4 inch, 7/8 inch and finally, 1inch. As you can see, on the smaller end of the spectrum, gauges decrease by a factor of two until 0 where the numbers begin to increase.
How Do People Stretch Their Piercings?
People who stretch their piercing usually begin with a hole around a 16 or 14 gauge and stretch their piercing by gradually changing the size of their gauged jewelry one step larger every month or two.
Every piercing has the potential to be gauged and stretched to almost any size. Gauging is not recommended for surface piercings including those on the back of the neck and top of the wrist. If this topic interests you, read more about gauging and stretching pierced ears.
What Gauge Results in Permanent Deformation of a Piercing?
It must be noted that there is not a specific gauge that results in the permanent deformation of a stretched piercing. Everyone’s body is unique and will heal accordingly; however a 0 gauge is widely considered to be the point of no return.
There are many factors which contribute to how much a gauged piercing heals after it is taken out. Generally speaking, once a piercing is stretched to 0 gauge their hole will never return to normal. However, their hole may shrink down as small as 14 or 16 gauge.
Once a piercing is stretched over 1/2 an inch it is entirely possible that the hole will not shrink and will stay stretched forever. The longer a gauged piece of jewelry is kept in a piercing, the more likely it is that the hole will stay gauged. One can decrease the chances of permanently deforming their bodies by taking out their jewelry and allowing the piercing to breathe for several hours a day.
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